Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 781 › Conversation 781-026

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Welfare reform and 1972 presidential election

Monday, September 18, 1972 · 1:12 PM–1:25 PM ET · Oval Office ·4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation781-026 onTape 781StartMonday, September 18, 1972 at 1:12 PMEndMonday, September 18, 1972 at 1:25 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 781-026 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discussed political strategy regarding welfare reform legislation, specifically focusing on the administration's messaging and the potential fallout of failing to pass a bill before Congress adjourns. Nixon expressed skepticism toward the current congressional prospects and directed Ehrlichman to coordinate a public relations strategy and handle communications with legislative leadership. They also touched upon scheduling concerns related to upcoming meetings with Elliot Richardson and potential political risks associated with ongoing hearings, such as the General John D. Lavelle case.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I don't see it in the game.

I think most people in the welfare period, anything that seems to offer more, 24 to 26 years, that even sounds like

I couldn't agree more.

In fact, if I had been asked earlier, I would have said, why the hell are we trying to get them in?

Anyway, this idea that Republicans have a record

He ran behind the Congress.

He was.

But now my situation is running far ahead of the Congress.

The longer it stays in, the lighter it will be.

Yeah.

Well, I'll tell you what I'm for.

I can't get the right kind of a bill out of this Congress.

I need to know what our public, what we want to tell the public.

That's what I need to tell Scott Leake, what we say privately.

So what do you, do you want to repeat it at 8 o'clock?

Perhaps you want to, you can tell me sometime this afternoon.

Maybe after we meet with Elliot, you stay on.

Yes, I ran a problem device so that you could get the feel for what these people really thought about what they should know.

And we can go to that time.

As a matter of fact, what I'll try to do, what I think I'd rather do, since I can't vote least directly, is to throw the ball to you and you rule over the damn things.

Could you do that for me?

Now, the only other thing is that we have nine.

I've already talked to Alex about this.

And I was wondering if it might be useful to have, hey, I don't know, is the LaBelle hearing or something, is there anything affordable to see people coming out there?

Yeah.

What do you want to do with the records?

NARA Description

On September 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:25 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 781-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 781-26

Date: September 18, 1972
Time: Unknown between 1:12 pm and 1:25 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

            The President's schedule

            Welfare reform
               -Concessions
               -Popular opinion
               -1972 election
               -Memorandum
                    -Congressional adjournment
               -Strategy
                    -Congress
                         -Harry S. Truman

            The President's schedule

                                        (rev. Oct-06)

                 -September 19, 1972 meeting with Congressional leaders
                     -Public opinion
                         -Alexander P. Butterfield
                         -Hugh Scott
                              -Possible leak
                 -September 18, 1972 meeting with Elliot L. Richardson
                     -Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [HEW]
                     -Memorandum
                         -Ehrlichman
                     -Foreign policy
                         -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s schedule
                         -Gen. John D. Lavelle hearings
                         -Interim agreement [a strategic arms limitation]
                         -Henry A. Kissinger

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 10s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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Also recorded on September 18, 1972

781-022 1:00 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry M. ("Scoop") Jackson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:00 pm to 1:09 pm.
781-023 1:09 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 1:09 pm.
781-024 1:09 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at 1:09 pm.
781-025 1:10 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:10 pm to 1:12 pm.
781-027 1:12 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:25 pm.
781-028 1:12 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:25 pm.
358-010 1:25 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:30 pm.
358-011 1:25 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:30 pm.

All 44 conversations from September 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 781-026, September 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/781-026 (accessed September 18, 2026).